Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said he thought it would be “rude” for Palin to steal the limelight from the state Republican assembly by endorsing former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton on Saturday night, as has been rumored she will do.

Palin’s appearance at Magness Arena in Denver will come hours after the state GOP assembly wraps up in Loveland — where Buck likely will overwhelmingly capture the party nomination and get his name on the August primary ballot.

Norton, Buck’s chief opponent, is skipping the convention in favor of petitioning onto the ballot. Palin hasn’t given any explicit Norton endorsement, but she has danced around the idea recently.

In a release Monday, Norton’s campaign said Buck was criticizing “one of the heroes of the conservative cause.”

The statement, released by spokeswoman Cinamon Watson, likened the GOP assembly to a back-room deal. “Buck is proving to be the ultimate good ol’ boy — trying to keep the ‘back room’ all to himself. As far as we’re concerned, Sarah Palin is welcome in Colorado any time, any place,” Watson said.

Tea Party chatterboxes and avowed Buck supporters filled the blogosphere Monday, talking about how Palin’s visit showed she was out of touch with the party base, many of whom are giving up their Saturdays to go to Loveland and participate in the state assembly.

“If Sarah was interested in what the grassroots was doing, and not participating in the same ol’ same ol’, she’d be contacting the Tea Party movements and getting a feel for what people are saying — not just endorsing who she’s told to endorse,” said Jen Bailey, a leader of a 9-12 movement in Grand Junction and a Buck supporter.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that whistleblower protections passed by Congress in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 apply only when those alleging corporate misdeeds bring their information to the government.

A prominent white nationalist is suing Twitter for banning his accounts at a time when social networks are trying to crack down on hateful and abusive content without appearing to censor unpopular opinions.

The social media service Twitter is believed to have suspended thousands of accounts for being automated bots, or for other policy violations, drawing outcry from fringe conservative media figures who lost followers in the move.